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me, but what shall I tell the queen?”
    Rhianna sighed. The last thing she needed was another argument with her mother. And her maid was right about the rain, which was blowing in from the marshes in dark sheets. The weather wouldn’t stop her ridingto the lake, of course – she’d ridden through worse on her quests for the first three Lights. But it would make the queen suspicious about their excuse of a picnic.
    “Tomorrow, then,” she said, reluctantly replacing the armour in her clothing chest and allowing her friend to help her into a dress instead. “The others won’t be back from the Tor until tomorrow night at least. If we set out early, we’ll still be back before them.”
    With the Grail of Stars,
she thought hopefully.
    Lunch with her mother was not quite as bad as she’d feared. Guinevere approved of the dress Arianrhod had picked out for her, and of the way Rhianna had let the knights and her friends ride out to the Tor without making a fuss. The queen seemed embarrassed about the slap she’d given her earlier, andobviously wanted to make up for it.
    Rhianna stayed on her best behaviour. Towards the end of lunch, she lowered her gaze and asked if she and Arianrhod could take a picnic up to the lake the next day to exercise her horse.
    The queen hesitated. “I don’t know, darling,” she said. “The villains who robbed that poor squire could still be at large.”
    “I’ve got Excalibur,” Rhianna pointed out. “And we’ll take some men with us, I promise. Whoever attacked Gareth probably fled when they saw the Saxons coming. Mordred’s dead now, so he can’t cause any trouble. Please, Mother? The knights don’t think my vision meant anything, and it’s been such a long winter.”
    “You’re right about that, darling,” Guineveresaid, gazing out of the window. “We’ve let Mordred and his bloodbeards terrorise us long enough. I might even come with you to gather some May blossom. We should be safe enough if we stay close to Camelot, and the castle needs cheering up a bit after the mess Mordred made while he was here. When Bors and Bedivere get back, I think we’ll invite Chief Cynric and his Saxons to a feast to thank them for their help last year – we should show them how we celebrate spring at Camelot.”
    “We can easily bring some blossom back for you, Mother,” Rhianna said sweetly. “You don’t have to come with us – Arianrhod can gather it. I’m sure you’re very busy here with Sir Lancelot.”
    Her mother gave her a sharp look. “Lancelot can come, too. I’ll feel happier if he’s lookingafter you.” She pushed her plate aside and smiled. “I’m sorry I lost my temper with you in the meeting, darling. I think we were all a bit upset by that poor boy who drowned.”

    Rhianna spent that evening trying to find out more about Sir Galahad and why he had died on his Grail Quest. But the other damsels giggled and said she could forget about the handsome knight, because he would never look at anyone except his friend Percival, and anyway, she’d make Elphin jealous. Rhianna went to bed in disgust.
    The next day dawned wet, with rain that bounced off the roofs and made puddles in the yard. Not even Rhianna could pretend it was a good day for a picnic. She groomed Alba’swhite coat until it shone, and combed out the little mare’s tail so many times that Alba complained she would have no hairs left by the time they got back to Avalon.
    No word came from the knights who had ridden out to the Lonely Tor, which worried her slightly. But Sir Lancelot said they must have taken shelter to wait out the storm, and Rhianna didn’t want to alarm the queen into cancelling their picnic, so she kept quiet about Elphin’s promise to send Merlin back with a message if they needed help.
    By the time the sun finally came out on the third day, she was as irritable as her horse. When the queen suggested they wait another day for the ground to dry out, she had to bite her lip to stop